How to Play Ten-Seven Suited in Cash Games

Ten-Seven suited is one of those hands that seems just barely good enough to play.

It’s suited and relatively connected, so hitting a straight or flush is an enticing thought.

That being said, it’s not strong enough to play in many situations. This article covers the following:

• How to play it in all the common preflop situations
• 3 tips for playing Ten-Seven suited when you miss the flop
• 3 tips for playing Ten-Seven suited when you hit the flop

Let’s dive in!

How to Play Ten-Seven Suited Preflop

Position is a crucial factor to consider when you’re deciding whether or not to play a marginal hand like Ten-Seven suited.

These are the positions that will be referenced in this section:

Unopened Pots

Ten-Seven suited is only strong enough to open-raise when you are in the Cutoff, on the Button, or in the Small Blind. It’s simply too weak to play from all earlier positions.

Against a Raise

Even though the thought of calling and cracking a premium hand can seem attractive, Ten-Seven suited is only worth calling versus a raise when you are in the Big Blind.

Here’s the nice part: you can justifiably call with this hand versus a raise from every position (even at a 9-handed table).

Against a 3-Bet

Always fold Ten-Seven suited when you raise and face a 3-bet. When this happens, it usually means someone has woken up with a much better hand, so it’s time to throw in the towel.

3 Tips For Playing When You Miss the Flop 

These tips are for when you don’t flop a pair with Ten-Seven suited.

Tip #1: In multiway pots, always start with a check

It doesn’t matter if you have a straight draw, flush draw, or absolutely nothing. If you open-raise and multiple players call, it’s best to start off with a check on the flop.

If a player calls in position, they usually have a capped but more condensed range, meaning the likelihood of them holding medium and strong hands is high.

If you’ve over-called from the Big Blind, you typically don’t have the nut advantage, so checking is once again the best move.

Tip #2: Check-raise straight draws often from the Big Blind

Example: You defend your Big Blind with Ts 7s and the flop is 9c 6c 2d. You check and your opponent bets a medium amount. You should occasionally check-raise with this hand.

To have a well-balanced strategy, you need to have a check-raising range that consists of both strong hands and bluffs.

The best bluffs usually have equity to improve to the best hand by the river — such as open-ended and gutshot straight draws.

By check-raising these hands occasionally, you create opportunities to win the pot by either completing your straight or forcing your opponent to fold a superior hand.

Tip #3: Bet when the flop is dry and disconnected (and you are in position)

Let’s say you raise with Tc 7c from the Cutoff and the Big Blind calls. The flop is Kc 8s 2d and you face a check. You should always c-bet small here.

A flop like this has no draws and is better for your range as the preflop raiser (you’re more likely to have a strong Kx). In situations like this, you can range bet, meaning bet 100% of the time for a small size.

Tc 7c makes an especially good candidate for betting since it can generate folds from many better hands like (like Jack-high and Queen-high). 

In the example above, you also have bonus backup equity. If the turn is any club, Jx, 9x, or 6x, you will have a draw that is worthy of betting again as a semi-bluff.

3 Tips for Playing When You Hit the Flop

These tips will help you out when you actually hit a pair or better with your Ten-Seven suited.

Tip #1: Play passively with pairs when out of position (as the preflop aggressor)

In single-raised pots, low-connected boards like 7x 6x 3x and Tx 6x 5x are extremely favorable for the player who called a raise preflop.

Meanwhile, as the preflop aggressor, you will rarely smash these flops. Therefore, you should adopt a passive strategy and check with most of your hands. This includes checking with some great hands (like overpairs) and some vulnerable one-pair hands.

The focus should be on pot control. In other words, you don’t want to unnecessarily inflate the pot because you may end up in a tough spot later on if your opponent starts playing aggressively.

Tip #2: Mix between c-betting and checking with pairs that have a straight draw

When you flop a hand like Td 7d on 8d 7c 6s, you should play a mixed strategy. That means betting sometimes and checking sometimes.

It’s ideal to have this type of hand in both lines. That way, no matter what action you took on the flop, you can have hands like this in your range on the turn and river. This makes you tougher to predict and beat.

But there’s an exception: if you think your opponent is going to be too passive when you check, then you should always bet. The value of checking goes down if your opponent only bets with super strong hands in this scenario.

Tip #3: Slow-play your two pair on scary turns

Say the board is As Js 7d Ts. You turned two pair with your Ten-Seven suited, but the threat of a flush or straight looms large.

Your bottom two pair is a bluff-catcher at this point, since so many hands can have you beat.

Checking on the turn allows you to pick up value from weaker hands on the river, either by value betting or bluff-catching

Final Thoughts

If you follow the advice in this guide, you’ll avoid 95% of the mistakes people usually make when it comes to playing Ten-Seven suited.

Want more starting hand help? Scroll down to related articles and pick another one to read now.

That’s all for this guide! I hope you enjoyed it and that you will apply this knowledge in your next session.

Till’ next time, good luck, grinders!